504 Plans: Why Do You Need One?

Have you ever gotten a low blood sugar during class, suddenly feeling dizzy and unable to focus on what the teacher is saying? What about during a test? Hypoglycemia should never force you to sacrifice good grades in school, and no matter how adept you are at controlling your blood sugars, these episodes are bound to occur at least once in a while.

I have met plenty of kids (through support groups, diabetes camp, etc.) who have had trouble managing their diabetes while complying with school rules and schedules. A lot of schools do not allow students to eat in class or have electronic devices; and you'd be hard-pressed to find a teacher that would let a student "pause" during a test for any reason.  

However, if a student with diabetes gets a low blood sugar, he or she may need to eat in class. If that student's lunch is too late in the day, he or she may need to eat a snack every morning. And if that student feels dizzy during a test, he or she should be able to stop, treat the low blood sugar, and continue the test later.

I have heard horror stories of teachers yanking insulin pumps off of kids, and of schools where kids are only allowed to check their blood sugars in the nurse's office. Monitoring your blood sugar constantly is one of the most important parts of good diabetes management, and it should not take time away from learning. Insulin pumps are not cell phones, and they are not to be banned from the classroom.

Some principals, teachers and nurses have never dealt with Type 1 Diabetes, and so they do not know how to accomodate students with the condition. The nurse at my middle school, for example, would not let me drink soda once when I had a low bg because it was not on her list of foods to treat hypoglycemia; she actually took the soda away, and I had to wait 5 minutes while she looked at the list, then unlocked a cabinet to get glucose tabs, and proceeded to look at the list again to figure out that I needed exactly four glucose tabs before finally letting me have them! That was before I had a 504 plan. From then on, I never went to the nurse's office for any help with my diabetes.

Does everyone have a situation like this? Certainly not. I bet there are tons of wonderful school nurses and administrators who are very helpful to their diabetic students. But, no matter what, it is smart to have an official system in place so that there is no confusion.

Protect your right to be safe and healthy in school by setting up a 504 plan!

The "504" number refers to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and also applies to the Americans with Disabilities Act. In this context, diabetes does qualify as a "disability" (I understand that some people disagree with this). A 504 plan basically spells out approved modifications for students, such as access to a peanut-free lunch environment, a tape recorder for taking notes, or permission to test blood sugars and give injections anywhere at anytime. A 504 plan is not the same thing as an IEP (individualized education plan).